JP\/03\/IFES<\/p>\n
39 percent do not know how to vote: IFES<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may still be the
\npublic's favorite, but a large share of votes may be invalid, a
\nrecent opinion poll suggests.<\/p>\n
\"More than a third of respondents who will vote in the
\npresidential elections, or 39 percent, do not know the right way
\nto vote,\" a report of the International Foundation for Elections
\nSystem (IFES) revealed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ahead of the country's first ever direct
\npresidential elections, \"Of those who said they intended to vote,
\n38 percent did not know how to vote the right way\".<\/p>\n
In its latest \"tracking survey\" on the public's awareness of
\nthe elections, IFES interviewed 1,250 respondents in 31 of the
\ncountry's 32 provinces excluding the strife-torn Maluku province.<\/p>\n
The report said that two-thirds of respondents in Java knew
\nhow to vote. Overall, 59 percent of respondents in rural areas
\ndid not know how to vote compared to 65 percent in the cities who
\nknew how to vote.<\/p>\n
Overall 88 percent of respondents said they would probably
\nvote.<\/p>\n
The report said Susilo, the former chief security minister,
\nwas favored by 45 percent of respondents, in the belief that the
\nretired general could overcome a myriad of problems from
\ncorruption to poor quality education.<\/p>\n
The poll shows that supporters of almost all political parties
\nthat passed the electoral threshold in the legislative election
\npledged to vote for him.<\/p>\n
For instance 45.2 percent of respondents who voted for Golkar
\nParty and 48.8 percent who voted for the United Development Party
\n(PPP) in the legislative election would vote for Susilo on July
\n5.<\/p>\n
Tailing behind Susilo was Golkar candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto
\nwith 11.4 percent.<\/p>\n
The incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri came third with
\n11 percent, ahead of Amien Rais with 9.8 percent. Hamzah Haz came
\nlast with 2 percent. Taken together, Susilo's contenders only
\ngarnered 34.3 percent of the \"votes\" in the opinion poll.<\/p>\n
The survey also showed that Susilo's popularity rose
\nsignificantly after March. His appeal soared from 10 percent in
\nthe beginning of March to 45 percent in early June.<\/p>\n
The same was true for Amien, with the number of supporters
\ndoubling in that period.<\/p>\n
In a previous IFES survey Susilo led the opinion polls at 41
\npercent, with Megawati a distant second at 11.2 percent.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, local pollster Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicated
\nshowed that 46.64 percent of respondents said they would vote for
\nSusilo in the July 5 election.<\/p>\n
Managing director of IFES local partner Polling Center, Yanti
\nB. Sugarda, said that Susilo's ability to project a statesman-
\nlike image had influenced the voters to vote for him. \"Based on
\nour findings, Susilo's personality would likely play a
\nsubstantial role in garnering the most votes in the elections,
\nand not the efforts of his campaign team,\" she said.<\/p>\n
As for Megawati, Yanti said that her failure to communicate
\nwith the public had led to a steady decline in her popularity.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp03ifes-1447899208",
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